The Rufus Protocol
The Rufus Protocol
In March of 2014 our daughter Brandi was volunteering at an animal shelter. Janyce and I had just lost our dog Cheyenne in 2013. Janyce was pretty sad.
Brandi started telling Janyce about a few dogs that needed a good home. One day when Janyce had to pick Brandi up she decided to take a look. They took one dog outside to see if there was a connection. The dog wasn't interested. On the way back to the kennel they walked past a window. Another family had a dog in the room and it wasn't interested in them either. That dog looked straight through the glass at Janyce.
Brandi got excited. She told Janyce this was the dog she most wanted her to meet. They waited for the other family to finish. When the family came out Brandi and Janyce were sitting on a bench. Brandi got up and asked the attendant if they could see the dog named Rufus. The Spokane River Collection →
Brandi took the leash and brought him over. Rufus laid his chin on Janyce's knee. He looked up with his big brown sad eyes. Then he put his front paws up on her knees and licked Janyce's nose. He decided he was going home with his new mom. Janyce told him right there — you are coming home with me.
They found Rufus in a backyard with barbed wire wrapped around his muzzle. Skin and bones. Twenty pounds underweight. Janyce brought him home and was loving, patient, and compassionate. She fattened him up and loved him. Rufus was very protective of Janyce. If Bob raised his voice or got too close, Rufus would let him know to back off.
For almost three years Rufus never barked. He would just growl at Bob. Then our son came home wearing a baseball hat backwards. Rufus let out the loudest RUFF you ever heard. He kept Barking until the hat came off. From that day forward all baseball hats had to be removed at the door. Funny how bad people's hair is when they always wear a hat.
Janyce would take Rufus out to the backyard and they would chase each other. Play tag, fetch, hide and seek. He had a wonderful life with his family.
The Rock on the Highway
One Saturday Janyce, Bob, and Rufus went to the Spokane River to go rockhounding. On the drive home Rufus had to pee. We pulled over off the highway and let him out.
As we walked along the shoulder we came across a big greenish rock. Rufus gave it a thorough sniffing and promptly raised his leg. The minute the rock got wet a brilliant light green appeared — turning every shade of green all the way to almost black.
Janyce and I looked at each other. Janyce spun around to get the car. I grabbed that 58-pound rock and threw it in the back of our old Prius. It was right there in the ditch next to the highway on public land. We knew we were safe to take it.
After Rufus passed we got into rockhounding. Bob took that boulder that had been sitting in the yard and wanted to get a slab out of it. It took seven whacks with a five-pound splitting maul to break it in half. Noble serpentine. We still have 55 pounds of it today. We are making memories we will share. The Rufus Serpentine Collection →
Everything needs a little rescuing. We rescue the rock and we rescued Rufus. And Rufus rescued us.
We love and miss him very much.
— Bob & Janyce, Rockhound Studio, Spokane Valley WA